Archived Message

ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
by Vicki

Pixie is now a teenager and I am reading a book about 'surviving adolescence'. It suggests a nose hug whenever possible. It reaffirms the alpha position by offering security to the dog it says. The response from the dog should be licks on the hand. I started doing it with Pixie. I take my hand and gently cup her muzzle. She does lick me as soon as I let go. I'm also finding now when she is on my lap she sometimes puts her muzzle in my hand for awhile! It makes me feel good that she still respects my alpha to her. She did it today when we were riding in the car. Also another thing it said was that having the dog give you their paw isn't just a cute trick, but an act of submission and it also reaffirms the alpha position to your dog. Fascinating stuff. It is fun to communicate with my dog in her language! Also it said to rub your hands together before you pet your dog. They love to feel the warmth and energy from your touch. It sends a message of love to your dog. Try some or all and let me know if you get the same results I have from Pixie.

DISCUSSION:

Vicki, that book sounds really interesting. What is the title and who is the author? Are there any other great dog behavior books that could be recommended? I read The Hidden Life of Dogs a year or so ago and thought that was good.
-Maria

Maria, the name of the book is 'Surviving Your Dog's Adolescence, A Positive Training Program' by Carol Lea Benjamin. Another book that makes por interesting reading is 'How To Talk To Your Dog' by Jean Craighead George. It's a great book! Learn the differences between yelps, barks, and whines--how to use this "dog talk" in obedience training, how the pack behaviour of your dog's ancestors, wild wolves, influences your pet acts today, the easiest and most effective way to housebreak a puppy, how to use body language to break up confrontations between dogs and help train your pet, how to follow your dog's conversations with other canines, what they say through the language of scents, etc. It also has an illustrated charts of canine facial expressions and tail positions. I found it at my local library.
-Vicki

Thank you for the two leads on good books. My library books are due back the day after tomorrow, so I'll check for them. The How to Talk to Your Dog sounds like one I could use! We have what could only be called a pack of dogs, and lately a couple of them have been confrontational with each other--so I'd like to know what they're saying! Of course, our only Maltese, the darling Sweet Pea, is never involved in anything confrontational, she blithely sails through life totally assured she is loved by everyone.
-Maria

Maria, the book "How to Talk to Your Dog" addresses the issue of how You can ward off a confrontation with other dogs alpha style. I think everyone can benefit from learning how canines communicate with each other and how a human can communicate with their dog in alpha since when they brought the dog home away from it's mother and pack, They became the dog's alpha. A dog needs and wants an alpha figure, just as human children need a mother and father figure for their security and upbringing. It is very easy to learn and be alpha. It is very rewarding to be able to read your dog in their own language. Since I've learned alpha and apply it with my own dog, I see so many people out there that could have a better relationship with their dog if they would take the time to learn to understand them. It has made me more confident making friends with other dogs I wouldn't normally have known how to approach them. I can always tell an owner that is alpha to their dog just by the way the two of them communicate with their body language. The way the dog responds to the owner is different. When you start reading about it, you'll know what I mean. My family and I were recently at the park with Pixie and this lady was walking her Bichon and she noticed how well her dog responded to me. I got to share with her the 'alpha way'. She had never understood dog body language. So when another dog came by (a big dog), I explained to her how the dogs were communicating to one another. It was fun. I felt like Dr. Doolittle.
-Vicki